On Monday, May 7, 2018, the Boston Police Department received several reports relative to an aggressive phone scam targeting elderly community members. According to the reports, individuals "spoofing" a Boston Police Department non-emergency phone number and claiming to work for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are threatening to arrest people for failing to pay back taxes to the IRS. While these dangerous and cunning con artists can sound convincing and credible, they are far from it. If you receive such a call, don’t allow yourself to get scammed. Please be aware of the following as it relates to the IRS and their manner of tax collection. Here are some things the IRS will NEVER do:

(1) The IRS will never call your home demanding the immediate payment of any taxes over the phone.

(2) Furthermore, the IRS will never ask for your credit or debit card information over the phone.

(3) The IRS will never demand that you pay taxes using a specific method like a prepaid debit card.

(4) The IRS will never threaten to have you arrested or threaten to send the police to your house for not paying taxes.

If you feel like you’re being scammed, hang up the phone and call the Boston Police or the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484. For more information as it relates to the IRS and scam alerts, please visit: www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts